Innovate UK is offering businesses up to £35,000 (excluding VAT) each to encourage innovation around ‘future retail’, across the themes of food waste reduction, virtual fitting, seamless shopping and enhancing in-store and market experiences.

The contest

Innovate UK are looking for proposals from companies with innovative digital ideas to enhance experiences, services and processes across the retail landscape – namely optimising virtual fitting, improving accessibility of digital services in-store and at markets, empowering customers to reduce food waste, and streamlining the process of replenishing everyday items within the home. The companies will not only benefit from funding, but also the opportunity to collaborate with commercial partners to accelerate development of their technologies.

Innovate UK want to see solutions with potential appeal to a wide commercial market. Successful applicants will be expected to trial their proposed solutions with their industry partners for at least 3 months.

This contest is supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), who will broker introductions with leading experts within the social science community, and provide access to the knowledge, skills and resources developed within key initiatives of relevance to the sector, including the ESRC Consumer Data Research Centre and the ESRC Retail Sector Initiative.

The challenges

Innovate UK  are looking for innovative solutions to address one of our 5 contest challenges within the themes of food waste reduction, virtual fitting, seamless shopping and enhancing in-store and market experiences.

Challenge 1
Pioneering new ways to fight food waste
Partners: Tesco and WRAP

Challenge 2
Future of fitting
Partner: London College of Fashion

Challenge 3
Seamless shopping
Partner: Unilever

Challenge 4
Enhancing in-store experiences
Partner: Barclays

Challenge 5
Digital enhancement of street and covered markets
Partner: Greater London Authority

Application opens on 11th January 2016

View here for more details.

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